Now Let Him Enforce It

 In response to the flurry of cases brought against the Trump administration for its radical attempts to slash and burn all aspects of the federal government without constitutional authority, we're seeing some arguments from Republicans that lead to the conclusion that there is at least some consideration being given to simply ignoring the court's orders. Some have evoked the likely apocryphal statement attributed to President Andrew Jackson in which he was said to have declared, "[Chief Justice] John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it" — which raises the question if Trump is planning to abide by court rulings he doesn't agree with.

The New York Times described the famous quote as "potent" because it perfectly illustrates perhaps the most important "norm" in our system of government, the acknowledgment and acceptance of the idea set forth by the Marshall Court in the landmark 1803 case Marbury v. Madison that "it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret the rule." Jackson asked the frankly logical question of how such a thing could be practically enforced by the co-equal judicial branch against the executive if it has no coercive power of its own. Obviously, it depends upon the agreed-upon norm by all three branches of government as well as the states that the federal judiciary is the ultimate interpreter of the U.S. Constitution.

-Heather Digby Parton in Salon.com